The daily swirl of negative economic statistics and red ink gushing from financial services firms can overwhelm what's going on in other sectors.
Take office furniture. Now there's a business that should be on the edge with a shaky economy. What companies are buying new workstations when they’re considering cutting workers?
Based on the financial results for 2007 for East Greenville-based Knoll Inc. , plenty were.
Knoll surpassed $1 billion in sales last year for the first time. In fact, its sales have grown by 50 percent since 2004 when it went public. And while Knoll CEO Andrew Cogan acknowledged on an analyst call that 2008 will be challenging, the company is better positioned to weather this downturn.
Still investors aren't convinced. Knoll shares are down 41 percent over the last year. Knoll closed Thursday at $13.49, up 73 cents.
"We do not believe the industry is facing anywhere near the conditions that were experienced in 2001-2003," said Barry L. McCabe, Knoll's chief financial officer.
For one thing, Knoll is less dependent on those desks. During the 2001 recession, the company relied on its "office systems" for 70 percent of its revenue. Now that figure is 50 percent.
It also gets 10 percent of its revenue from areas other than North America. Knoll's European business was strong and it doubled business in the Middle East.
It is a global economy after all. Companies that have diversified geographically may be able to skate through the U.S. slowdown with only bumps and bruises.
